An inaccurate afternoon in front of goal has seen North Melbourne's VFLW team fall to Box Hill at Arden Street Oval, 1.5 (11) to 5.3 (33).

Looking for their fifth win of the season, the Kangaroos were switched on early with Audrey Rhodes, Madisen Maguire and Ciara Fitzgerald setting the tone across all three lines, but as time went on it was the Hawks who were able to gain control of the contest and make the most of their chances.

"The end result was really disappointing," VFLW coach Steph Binder told NMFC Media.

"We started off well and took a lead into quarter-time, but I guess it was a tale of our first and third quarters against our second and fourth quarters … and Box Hill just got on top of us (in that second term).

KANGAROOS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

"Going into the third quarter we got back to playing the brand of footy that we want, we were able to generate time in forward half that we couldn’t capitalise on … but we had some really good looks to try and put a bit of scoreboard pressure on.

"We weren't able to take that momentum into the final term and we just seemed to go back into our shells and play the game in straight lines instead of trying to shift the ball to the open side."

North Melbourne snagged the first goal of the day 16 minutes into the first term through a tremendous Georgia Nicholas effort and long-range attempt, but it was cancelled out just a minute into the second quarter by Box Hill's Mietta Kendall.

Under immense pressure in the backline following Kendall's major, it was Dalia Edward (13 disposals, two clearances) and Teagan Bradley (16, four marks) who stood tall for the Kangaroos, but late goals to Sarah Humm and Gabrielle Collingwood saw the visitors head into the main change with an 11-point advantage.  

Looking for an answer to Box Hill's three consecutive goals, the Roos asserted themselves at the beginning of the second half and managed to lock the ball inside forward-50 for the majority of the third quarter.

The perceived dominance didn’t amount to much though as Binder's side could only muster four straight behinds.

Repeat entries for the Hawks in the match's final 20 minutes saw the Roos pinned back and unable to generate any attack of their own, ultimately leaving them with a 22-point defeat.

On a positive note, midfielder Jennifer Guy made her long-awaited return to the field after knee and shoulder injuries to finish with 16 disposals and eight tackles.

"It was really good to have Jen back out there. She's one of our Tassie players and last season she went down with an ACL injury, so she's been working hard back home with her rehab," Binder mentioned.

"We were really happy for her. She adds a different dimension to our midfield so it's good to have her bursting through packs again."

Clever defender Fitzgerald was one of North Melbourne's best afield collecting 18 disposals and three tackles, while ruck Jess Jones (15, 28 hitouts) and onballer Annabel Scott (20, five clearances) worked hard in the engine room.

NORTH MELBOURNE     1.1    1.1    1.5    1.5  (11)     
BOX HILL             0.0    3.0    3.1    5.3  (33)     

GOALS
North Melbourne: Nicholas
Box Hill: Humm 2, Tessari, Collingwood, Kendall

BEST  
North Melbourne: Fitzgerald, Jones, Scott, McDonald, Bradley, Maguire